ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996                 TAG: 9604120096
SECTION: BOOKS                    PAGE: 4    EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: BOOK REVIEW

BOOKMARKS

FAITH.

By R.T. Smith. Black Belt Press. $20.

``Outside the Simmons house the pastel petals of summer faded in the haze of heat waves and withered beneath an indifferent sun. It was drought July

Thus begins ``No Greater Gift,'' one of the stories in R.T. Smith's collection entitled "Faith." This line was chosen at random; every story is rich in the prose of a poet. In Smith's writing, sentences stand alone like well-shaped verse, and stories are significant for sound as well as substance. In short, his use of language is beautiful.

Of these 14 stories about life in small southern towns after World War II, some are funny, some are moving, some capture a unique moment in time, and all introduce unforgettable characters. The most unforgettable is the boy Corey, whose story is contained in vignettes which precede the individual stories. Through Corey and the others, Smith offers perceptions of the human soul clothed in assorted bodies, all different and yet all bound together in human commonality. As the narrator says in ``The Longest Day of the Year,'' ``... we're not made of smoke. Not at all ... We rise from the dirt and reach for the sun. We flower and we fall, and the world is the same.'' In 1995 Smith moved to Lexington after serving as writer-in-residence at Auburn for many years and then as resident fellow at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig in Ireland. He is currently editor of the literary journal, ``Shenandoah.''

- MARY ANN JOHNSON, book page editor

Howard Owen, known to readers as the author of "Littlejohn," will be signing his new novel, "Answers to Lucky," at Ram's Head Book Shop on Sunday, April 21, 2-4 p.m.

Nikki Giovanni will give a poetry reading in the second floor galleries of the Art Museum of Western Virginia, April 21, 2-3 p.m. The public is invited to the reading and to the reception which follows.

LENGTH: Short :   47 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  (headshots) R.T. Smith.